Bhagavad-Gita

Selected Concepts
A Comparison to Buddhist and Pagan Philosophies


"Every variety of Hindu philosophy has its source in the
Upanisads, the Brahma Sutras of Badarayana of Vyasa
and the Bhagavad-Gita"

Ok .. now can I say that again .. In English

As with any study you have to know the Jargon ..
the terms and Language used, before anything you read
makes sense ..

Hindu Philosophy ..for starters ..there is no such thing
as One Way In Hindu, but on this they all agree ..
the Bhagavad-Gita .. all of the former.. the Upanisads,
the Brahma (teacher) sutras (work ) are works of the
Sages .. much like the Dharmas of Buddha .. in fact
they are almost Identical in many ways..Buddha was
accepted as a Brahma by the early Hindu..and there is
a great deal of overlap between the system of the Brahma
sutras (Badarayana of Vyasa is a persons name and
clan)..and Buddhism .. like the concept of Karma
for example

Karma is a Hindu concept .. but is so interrelated with
Buddhism, which we tend to think of as more Asian,
that it is hard to tell where one religion stops
and the others begin ..

The Vedas, which are the earliest works, are a collection
of hymns which date back to 1200 BC. The Vedas present
the world according to mythology rather than philosophy.
Siddhattha (Buddha) would have been schooled in the Hindu
faith and therefore the Vedas .. as he was born
to a minor Royal house in India ..

The belief that the world is somehow a Mystical place
many Pagan paths share .. while we have in place some
firm Philosophies .. a great deal of what we do..has to do
with the Mythos of the race .. the part of the mind
that can see beyond the here and now ..

The basic way of all Hindu faiths
and the Bhagavad-gita in particular .. is a simple one

Its not what a man does, but how he does it..
What did he do it for ?
What state is his mind in ?
What are his intentions ?
Does he act only for self gain ?
Is the outcome more important than the work ?
This is what determines if the action is right or wrong
The Will ..if the will is correct..there is no "Sin"
sounds familiar ?

Love is the law, Love under will ..
there is no Law beyond do what thou will
and if your will is driven by love .. as it should be ..
there is no error in the action

Connection with the Spirit is the Goal here ..
and the Hindu realize that there are many paths
to this end.."and no path is to be preferred exclusively
and none to be disdained "

Which sounds a lot like the Pagan Paths..in that we Know
the paths are many..each man must walk that road
how they see it and any way that gets there,is valid

This seeking of the Way .. an End to uncertainty and
suffering is a human concept .. the questions of
Why are we here ? Why do we suffer in life ?
What can be done about the suffering ?
Where to we go when we die ?
These are questions called Brahma-jiijnasa ..
The questions of the human mind about the :Absolute:

These sound pretty familiar don't they ?
They are questions that intelligent persons have tried
to answer, to there own satisfaction, for eons ..
The Absolute ? Is the One .. the All .. The Force ..
the Essence of the Godhead as the Gita would say ..

There are 5 basic truths to the Bhagavad-Gita

Isvara = The Controller or Godhead
Jivas = The Controlled .. or Living things
Prakrti =The Material Nature of things
Time = The duration of existence
Karma = The effects of actions taken

In real simple terms this means
Every living thing is subject to a higher law..I can walk
with that .. That some things just happen because its
their nature to happen ( I could say something tacky here
but I'll hush ..that things have a limited life span
(Everything..even the mountains wear down over time)
The cycle of Birth..Life..Death..and Re birth ..is how
things work ..and that the actions living things take
that have independent action..effect what happens
to it in this life

What you put out you get back .. times Three ..
so says the Rede

Buddha might say .. trouble comes to all lives
but how we respond to it .. is all that matters
All trouble is fleeting and for the souls sake has little
meaning .. this life is transitory .. and should be
transcended to the higher places .. all things are mortal
and therefore short lived .. the soul however is eternal

If you transcend this cycle of birth and re birth by your
actions, or live a life that gains such karma as to demand
life again, to amend the fault, is up to you

A lot of these basic concepts were .. re thought
(even though they didn't know it Was rethinking it)
in times of Revival by the old Masters of Philosophy
Plato..Immanuel Kant..Socrates..Aristotle upon which we
Westerns base a great deal of our thought .. Which just
goes to show Great Truths will find a way to manifest ..
even if separated by time and place .. and will arise
independent of any other input

Or as we Pagans like to say .. No matter what it is ..
Mother will find someone to say it .. if it needs saying

We are all much the same on this spinning blue ball of ours
then .. now and into tomorrow .. Men and Women of faith
and good will will try to live life .. free of grief
and to help there fellows do the same .. As the Brahma's
did, As Buddha did .. as all the old Masters of Philosophy
did .. As we on the Pagan paths try to do

Blessed be the Great work .. Past and Present
and may the morrow be so bright with promise
We gotta wear shades


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Starwind

Blessings on your coming
Blessings on your going
Blessings on all your house